The Bagel Hall of Fame: the men who have lost the most 6-0 sets as Mannarino enters the top three

Adrian Mannarino lost the first set 6-0 against Ignacio Buse in the first round of the ATP 500 in Vienna before recovering to win 0-6, 7-5, 6-4. The 38-year-old Frenchman entered the main draw as a qualifier, while Buse, ranked No. 32 in the world, was the favorite by 41 places. The Peruvian had also beaten Mannarino in the first round in Madrid in April. What followed was a reminder that a bagel, as tennis calls a 6-0 set, is a scoreline, not a verdict.

The match also put the spotlight on a statistic that rarely attracts attention. It was the 36th time Mannarino had lost a set 6-0, equaling Gastón Gaudio's tally and leaving him behind only Fabio Fognini's 42 and Fabrice Santoro's 54 among the players with the most bagel sets conceded. It was also the third time Mannarino had lost a set 6-0 and gone on to win the match. The following day, he defeated world No. 16 Jakub Mensik 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals, where he will face either Daniil Medvedev or Cameron Norrie.

The numbers offer an interesting perspective on a group of players, many of whom are renowned for their longevity on tour and several of whom have enjoyed significant success, including a French Open champion. Their place on this list should not be interpreted simply as evidence that they were accustomed to heavy defeats. Rather, it reflects how many matches they played over the course of their careers, giving them more opportunities to experience the occasional one-sided set.

The same perspective applies when looking at some of the sport's greatest champions. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have also suffered bagels during their careers, perhaps more often than many would expect when considering their achievements. Even the most successful players are not immune to a 6-0 set, and these statistics provide another way to examine the realities of competing at the highest level over many years.

The list of players who have conceded the most bagel sets at the highest level is dominated by names who spent decades on tour. Fabrice Santoro, nicknamed “The Magician” by Pete Sampras for his inventive playing style, competed professionally from 1989 to 2010 and became the first man to appear in 70 Grand Slam singles events.

Santoro reached a career-high ranking of world No. 17, won six singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2006 Australian Open. He finished his career with a 470-444 win-loss record, placing him among the players with the most match victories in ATP Tour history. He currently ranks 67th on the all-time list, just ahead of players such as Daniil Medvedev, who has 469 wins, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with 467, and Robert Lutz with 465.

Another prominent name is Fabio Fognini, who retired from professional tennis in 2025 with a 426-396 win-loss record. With more than 800 matches played, the Italian also belongs among the 100 players with the most ATP-level victories. He reached the top 10 during one of the most competitive eras in men's tennis, regularly facing Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and other leading players of the past two decades. However, Fognini conceded 42 bagel sets throughout his career and won only six of the matches in which he lost a set 6-0, making him the second player on the list behind Santoro.

The podium is completed by former French Open champion Gastón Gaudio. The Argentine conceded 36 bagel sets during his career, a tally Mannarino matched this week in Vienna. Gaudio, however, managed to recover and win five of the matches in which he lost a set 6-0, a slightly better record than Mannarino's three victories in 36 such matches.

Mannarino is now level with Gaudio and occupies a place on the podium of players who have conceded the most bagel sets. At 38, the Frenchman has shown no intention of retiring and could climb further up the list, although it is unlikely to be a record he is particularly interested in extending. He has already conceded three bagel sets in 2026: against Damir Džumhur in Rome, Alex de Minaur in 's-Hertogenbosch and Buse in Vienna. Earlier in his career, Federer, Djokovic, Zverev and Alcaraz were also among the players to hand Mannarino a 6-0 set.

Fifth place belongs to Alberto Martín, perhaps the least recognised player on the list but nevertheless a notable figure of his era. The Spaniard conceded 33 bagel sets during his career and managed to win only one match in which he lost a set 6-0. Martín reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 34 and was part of Spain's victorious Davis Cup team in 2004, alongside Rafael Nadal, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moyá. He also made a notable run at the 2006 French Open, reaching the fourth round after defeating former world No. 1 Andy Roddick in the opening round.

The first thing the table shows is that it is largely a measure of longevity. A player who competes at tour level for 20 years can play close to 900 matches, and a small percentage of those will inevitably include a 6-0 set.

When considering the total number of matches played, Santoro “only” conceded a bagel set in approximately one out of every 17 matches of his career. Assuming a season of around 50 matches, that would amount to roughly three bagel sets conceded per year. In Mannarino's case, the frequency is lower, at just over one bagel set for every 20 matches played.

The least favourable ratio belongs to Gaudio. The former Grand Slam champion conceded a bagel set in approximately one out of every 13 matches he played at tour level throughout his career, with most of those sets coming on clay. Notably, one of them came against Rafael Nadal in Buenos Aires in 2005. The match ended with a victory for the Argentine, who responded to losing the opening set 6-0 by returning the favour before securing a dominant 0-6, 6-0, 6-1 win against the player who would soon become the undisputed King of Clay. The match took place just months before Nadal won his first French Open title.

It is also worth considering that several players on this list were clay-court specialists, and clay is arguably the surface where bagel sets are most likely to occur. With the serve generally offering less of an advantage than on faster surfaces, a player having a bad day can find themselves trailing 0-6 more easily. At the same time, clay can provide more opportunities to recover, as Gaudio demonstrated against Nadal. A shift in momentum or a change in a player's mental stability can produce unusual scorelines, perhaps more readily than on grass, where players can often protect their service games more effectively even when they are not playing their best tennis.

The Big Three offer a useful contrast. Rafael Nadal conceded 15 sets 6-0 throughout his career, spread between 2004 and 2018, while Novak Djokovic suffered 12. For Roger Federer, the figure stands at just five.

A closer look at Federer's record shows that three of those bagel sets came in 1999, when he was only 18 years old. The other two occurred at very different stages of his career: in the 2008 French Open final against Nadal, which he lost 1-6, 3-6, 0-6, and in what turned out to be his final professional match, against Hubert Hurkacz in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2021. Federer lost that encounter 3-6, 6-7, 0-6.

Nadal, meanwhile, was renowned for his ability to recover from difficult situations throughout his career. Of the 15 bagel sets he conceded, he managed to win the match on four occasions. His most recent 6-0 set conceded came against Dominic Thiem at the 2018 US Open. After a disastrous opening set, Nadal fought back to win an epic encounter lasting four hours and 49 minutes, prevailing 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6. Although he struggled physically at the beginning, he recovered to secure the victory. However, he later withdrew from his semifinal against Juan Martín del Potro due to injury, retiring while trailing 6-7, 2-6, 0-0.

Other notable names who conceded multiple bagel sets include Stan Wawrinka, with 22, Andy Murray, with 14, and Lleyton Hewitt, with 12.

Adrian Mannarino has established himself as a distinctive figure of his generation, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 17 in 2024, relatively late in his career. The 38-year-old Frenchman stands out for his unconventional equipment, unusual playing style and distinctive philosophy on court. His string tension is typically between 20 and 25 pounds, roughly half the standard tension used by many players on tour.

This creates a trampoline effect that allows him to generate depth without relying on power, although it comes at the cost of some precision — something he compensates for with exceptional technique. Maintaining control of his shots with such low string tension is a skill that few top-level players could replicate consistently.

His flat groundstrokes and minimal use of spin make him a particularly tricky opponent to face. Some players struggle to read his shots, while others never quite become comfortable with the rhythm and trajectory of his rallies.

A defensive baseliner and counterpuncher, Mannarino has won five ATP titles from 16 finals, building his career around consistency, timing and the ability to redirect pace rather than overpower opponents. His ability to create sharp angles and redirect the ball makes him an uncomfortable matchup who can spring a surprise against almost anyone.

Mannarino has reached the second week of three different Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open — with his most recent run coming at the 2025 US Open. There, he even defeated Ben Shelton before falling short of reaching his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

This week, the Frenchman is once again attracting attention with an impressive run at the Vienna Open. After coming through qualifying, he has advanced to the quarterfinals, demonstrating that he remains competitive at 38.

Since the start of the Asian swing, Mannarino has won 11 of his last 15 matches, including victories over Flavio Cobolli, Andrey Rublev and Jakub Menšík. His results have secured his return to the top 60, and he will now look to continue his run in Vienna as he awaits the winner of the match between Cameron Norrie and Daniil Medvedev, with a place in the semifinals at stake.